Renting is becoming the better option in many large US cities

Millennials fretting over the high costs of buying a first home, fear no more: renting may be the better financial option anyway.

A new report shows the growth of home prices is outpacing that of rents across many major metropolitan areas in the United States, which could be yet another factor sinking the country’s historically low rate of homeownership.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University just released their third-quarter housing index that compares housing prices and rents in 23 major cities, including Miami.

Of all 23, the Journal reported, homes were becoming more expensive faster than rents were rising. Nationwide, the cost of buying a home spiked 5.5 percent year-over-year September, while rents jumped only 3 percent.

Miami crossed the threshold for renters getting a better deal in 2014, according to the index, and the gap between housing costs and lease rates has continued to grow since then.

Buy versus rent chart for Miami

That trend doesn’t appear to be headed for a change in the near future, either: developers are about to deliver the largest influx of apartments in Miami-Dade County’s history this year – a supply boom that will likely keep rent growth at a moderate rate, experts say.